


no better time for kisses than midnight

by JustPrettyGay



Series: Kissing Friends [3]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: (they are the sweetest!), Fluff, Kisses, Noah Czerny Feels, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Noah Czerny, Ronan Lynch is Very Soft, it's just very sweet and lovely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 06:29:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18463394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustPrettyGay/pseuds/JustPrettyGay
Summary: >> “You okay with being here?” Ronan asked, and his voice seemed rough, like it hadn't been used in a long time.Noah smiled, because being cared about by Ronan felt like a privilege, and being shown it so openly felt like life.  <<As Ronan can't sleep and Noah remembers a time before, they find themselves on a playground at midnight, kissing.





	no better time for kisses than midnight

**Author's Note:**

> I saw [this headcanon](https://richardtranseyiii.tumblr.com/post/179415356964/ronan-and-noah-100-had-their-1st-kiss-while-they) and then [this drawing](http://jamieism.tumblr.com/post/179848262918/ronan-and-noah-100-had-their-1st-kiss-while-they) on tumblr and just had to write something for it
> 
> Thanks a lot to [ananasturtle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ananasturtle) (has not written anything English herself yet but is very lovely) and [nico](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonEyez) (they write amazing stories, are really sweet and also do commissions so check them out!) for beta reading and generally being very supportive.

cn death

 

It was cold, and dark.

The few stars covering the sky weren't nearly enough to illuminate the scenery, only a street lantern at the other end of the playground provided them with some light, though barely so.  
Ronan had struggled to sleep once again, and Gansey hadn't. There had been no one to provide him company – no one but Noah that was.

Ronan had been lying in his bed, listening to that awful sound abomination he fancied to call music, when Noah appeared. Maybe, they thought, it was Ronan's loneliness that called to them, that made them re-emerge that night.

They'd knocked at his door then, almost shy, and when Ronan opened, Noah sensed that he was happy for the disturbance, and the company.

With Ronan this late at night, there were always two options: either he was angrier than usual, or a strange, forbidden softness surrounded him.  
That night, he had been of the latter, even managed a faint smile and a surprised “Noah?”

“You wanna hang out?” Noah had asked and smiled a lopsided smile, tilting their head slightly.

“Sure”, Ronan had answered, and then he'd asked “How d'you feel about goin’ out?”.

That's how they ended up sitting on swings now, embraced by darkness and a familiar silence.

“When I was alive, I used to spend a lot of time here with my sisters.” Noah threw in after a while. They weren't particular sad about it, no more than usual anyhow, but rather taken in by a faint sense of fond memory, a melancholy that radiated tenderness, brought upon by a combination of the late night's atmosphere and Ronan's softness.

“You okay with being here?” Ronan asked, and his voice seemed rough, like it hadn't been used in a long time.

Noah smiled, because being cared about by Ronan felt like a privilege, and being shown it so openly felt like life. 

“Yeah, I'm not upset by it, not really. I just thought about how we used to play here. You see that tree over there? I used to try and climb it, and I usually failed. My sister though it was the funniest thing in the world.” In memory of Adele, Noah's heart filled with fondness, and suddenly they laughed. A clear and child-like laugh it was, carrying through the night like it came from the distant past and still wasn't sure where its destination would be.

“She used to spin me, on this swing. She'd spin me till the swing wouldn't go any farther, and then punch me or steal my cap or something. And then when she'd let go I'd be too dizzy to chase after her. Which doesn't mean I didn't still try.” Noah could feel Ronan's piercing eyes on them. They turned to look at him, dark and looming and dangerous in the spare light. Soft and gentle in the dark.

“Sorry for rambling”, they mumbled, and tucked in their head a bit. Instead of a reply, they heard Ronan get up, and because it was Ronan it seemed to be a harsh action. When they turned to look, they saw him approach, drawing up in front of them. Ronan smiled smugly.

“No need to be sorry”, he said, and then Noah was turned around. The sudden movement surprised them, almost making them fall before they caught the metal strings to steady themself. Again they had to laugh, it felt so much like back then with their sister.  
Ronan moved them slowly, almost painfully, around and around and around. Until finally, he came to a halt, Noah facing him from where they sat.

When standing, they were of the same height, but now Ronan was looming over Noah, all dark, dark eyes, dark skin, dark clothes. It was hard to make out single features in the darkness, hard to interpret what Ronan was thinking. Only his eyes glittered sharply, but Noah believed it was very possible that Ronan was smirking.

Cheerfully, they smiled up at him, crooking their head a bit. “You're so lovely, sometimes.” they said. Lovely really wasn't a word one would usually use to describe Ronan, but in that moment, it somehow fit. Noah couldn't really pin down why, but it felt _right_.

“Shut up, asshole.” Ronan's 'lovely' reply came immediately, but Noah detected a hue of nervousness in it, the insult not as sharp as it could have been.

And then, he bent down. Noah was startled, and surprised, and didn't move as Ronan's face hovered only a breath away from theirs. They were close, so close, and albeit they'd been this close before, something was different, something was more, something was awaiting.

“Ro-” Noah began, softly, fading a bit. Before they could finish the word, Ronan's lips were on theirs, rough skin, a gentle movement, very careful and small; Noah could feel the stubble of Ronan's beard scratch against their mouth, and they closed their eyes because this - this felt really good.

Then Ronan was gone again, way too soon, and Noah was spinning, spinning fast, around and around and around, the world a blur of dark colours and the faint sensation of Ronan's lips.

When they finally came to a halt, the swing untwisting in one last, rough movement, it took Noah a moment to orient themself. Their vision cleared, and they saw that Ronan had brought a few steps' length between them, a silhouette against the distant lantern's light.

“You- “ Noah began, then stopped short because they didn't really know what to say.  
Ronan just barked his harsh laugh, head tilted back. Noah stood up and stumbled towards him. Both because that's what they'd always done with their sister, and because they really wouldn't mind another kiss. But Ronan was faster, and less awkward, taking quick steps back while Noah staggered after. They felt light-headed and strangely alive.

“Stop running away!” Noah complained when their sense of orientation returned.

“You wish!” came the harsh answer. Noah started running now, fully back on their senses, and Ronan darted away before them, still faster.

They chased him around the playground, laughing, for this was a night to be happy, until finally they caught him. Noah threw themselves against Ronan, and both of them tumbled down into the damp grass. They immediately seized the opportunity, and climbed on top of Ronan, pressing him down, panting. Ronan was much stronger than Noah, but he didn't push them away, only struggled against their grip playfully.   
Noah bent down and kissed Ronan, their wide noses brushing against each other, full lips meeting.

It was just a kiss, short and sweet, and they already parted again.

“You're really fuckin cold.” Ronan said, but it wasn't a complaint, merely a statement.

“I'm always cold.” Noah answered, soft and thin.

Ronan smiled beneath them, then surged up a bit, and they kissed again.

This time, their lips stayed locked for longer, moving and brushing and full of wonder.  
Ronan's hand found its way into Noah's messy hair, dry and thin from bleach. A soft noise escaped their mouth then, and they nudged back a bit, leaned into the touch. They had missed this. They had missed kissing, and being petted, and being spun on a swing, and being held close, and rolling through damp grass with a beautiful and soft and angry, sleepless boy at midnight.

Actually, they had never before rolled through damp grass with a beautiful and soft and angry, sleepless boy at midnight, but it felt like something they would have missed.  
They parted, and Noah, already fainting a bit, sank down to lie next to Ronan, their arms touching, as both watched the clouded sky. There were three stars shining through, almost invisible.

While they were lying there, sharing each other's presence, Noah held on to Ronan's touch, held on so they wouldn't vanish, both to save this moment a little longer and to not scare Ronan off. They weren't bothered by the cold and the wet, but Ronan was, or so it seemed, as his body noticeably cooled down. Therefore, after a while, Noah said, “Let's go home.” and Ronan replied, “Okay.”

Back in Monmouth, in the quiet atmosphere of Gansey's dark room, Noah whispered, “I liked this.”

And Ronan suppressed a laugh, “I bet you did.”

And then, softer, just as he vanished through his door,

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> anyhow, this was really out of my comfort zone, but I hope y'all still liked it! Sometimes I live on feedback alone (feel free to include criticism!) so maybe consider writin a comment or scream to me on [tumblr](http://nonbinaryczerny.tumblr.com/)


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